I hadn't actually heard much of Sun Ra's music, but I just bought The Solar-Myth Approach Vol 1 & 2, and I'm really loving it. I want to try a few more albums, but there's so many I don't know where to start.
I'm not really into traditional jazz, I prefer the stuff that goes into darker, more experimental territory.

Is there anybody here into Sun Ra? Any suggestions as to what to get next?

I remember listening to Sun Ra back in the late 60s because a friend was really into it. I can't suggest any particular albums, but I can see why it interests you._________________--Howard
my music and other stuff

The first ESP album by the Sun Ra Arkestra was recorded at RLA Studios by Richard L. Alderson on April 20, 1965. It marked the beginning of a cordial association between B and the prolific genius, prophet, poet, cosmic voyager, teacher and spiritual guide. His influence on contemporary music is pervasive. He was a good friend to B and to ESP. B recalls that the phone rang at about 10:30 on a summer evening. It was RA, and he was at Kennedy International Airport with his Arkestra, and they needed transportation and funds to be able to return to New York City from their just completed tour to Egypt. B then owned a large old Chrysler station wagon. He drove to the airport, and collected as many people and instruments as the wagon could hold, and they drove back to Manhattan.

When they stopped at Bs apartment for refreshments, Ra regaled B with great glee with the story of how they had been stopped at the Egyptian border by a customs official who refused to believe that a mere mortal carried a U.S. Passport bearing the name of the Pharoaic deity. RA asked the official to call the curator of the National Museum of Antiquities. The curator rushed to the scene and had a spirited discussion with RA on the subject of Egyptology and hieroglyphics, which RA had studied. The curator certified RA as authentic, and RA was invited to perform with the Arkestra on Egyptian television, which he accepted.

When ESP staged a free concert on a huge pier in the East River, a site where the South Street Seaport now stands, RA agreed to perform with his Arkestra. The macrobiotic restaurant on 7th Street in the East Village went out of business that day, so they agreed to brig all of their remaining food to the pier, and, at modest cost, ESP was able to feed the entire Arkestra sumptuously that afternoon. Moored along the pier was a magnificent, full masted sailing ship, the official training ship of the Portuguese Navy. It had just arrived in port, and the cadets were disconsolate because they would not be allowed shore leave. They thronged the rail as the Arkestra set up and began to play. Soon, the Captain relented and allowed them to debark. Within minutes, hundreds of cadets were dancing joyously with local girls to the music of the Arkestra. When word got back to Lisbon, the local press and radio made much of the event, and ESP won special status with the people of Portugal, for what was considered to be a warm gesture toward their nation.

I've got Angels & Demons which is a jazz 'big' band kinda premise with charts, etc, but warped heavily around the edges in that tilting Sun Ra way.

Also have Space is the Place which I love. Lots of Sun on organ with more of a 'pop' approach including chickie backup singers 'n all ("Zoom, zoom, up in the air zoom"). It's a fun one.

Got some 'live' stuff too which sounds like it might have been fun to be there, but the zany pirotechnic energy didn't translate well to the recording.

Basically I think you either like Sun or you don't. It tends to be too wierd for most folks. If you dig what you've got, which means you're probably fairly open minded, you probably can't go too wrong. _________________Que la musique sonne - Edgard Varese

I was seriously tempted to give up everything and go be a farmer or something... - Jack Endino, Seattle record producer

Ha...I have not seen this post before!!! I have been a HUGE Sun Ra fan for nearly 30 years and I have seen him perform many times in the 1970's and 1980's. Indeed, his discography is tremendous and many of his releases are not very good because they were taped rehersals that many of the musicians never thought would be released for public consumption! IMHO, my favorite (and I think best) albums are:

Heliocentric Worlds I & II
Angels and Demons at Play
The Magic City
Atlantis
Live at Montreux
My Brother the Wind (This contains some VERY early solo mini moog pieces)
Mayan Temples
Monorail and Satellites/St. Louis Blues/Solo Piano-These 3 releases are for solo piano and are fantastic! They really reveal the methods to his musical madness
Visions (A Duet for vibist Walt Dickerson)
Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy/Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow-Probably his most out and abstract and inparts messy
Sun Songs
The Singels Collection-This is an amazing collection of pieces that were and/0r going to be released as singles by the Arkestra and artist that Sun Ra was producing including an a cappella vocal group singing Doo Wop!!!

In 1996, I started a group of pieces called Portraits of the Dead which is a series of pieces dedicated to my musical/philosophical influences. One of the pieces I did was for Sun Ra which is a duet for piano and Nord Lead!

Thanks for the recommendations jbenzola.
I recently bought "Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy/Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow" and "Space is the Place", and they're both great albums. I'll definitely by getting a few more albums in the next few weeks. Sun Ra is fast becoming a major influence on my own music.
The "Space is the Place" film has just come out on dvd aswell, so I'm looking forward to seeing that pretty soon.

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